From my tender childhood Disney's Alice in Wonderland was one of my favorite cartoon for its humor (those who know me know how I like things twisted especially in my humor!) its story and the wonderful and uncommon colors of the "original" film. When I first read that Tim Burton was going to do it in film I thought no other director could bring his own vision to Lewis Carroll's oeuvre better than the king of the weird eerie Hollywood gothic films so popular has; Edward Swissorhand, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, etc. Well, now after seing it I don't know if I liked it enough to say it was good, sure it isn't bad but that doesn't make it good for that...
Burton's film is not a remake of the 1951 animated version but the non-official sequel to it, I think it was a good idea to do it that way... It's Alice's return in Wonderland 13 years later and she has to be true to herself to conquer the Wonderland (her mind) and to conquer the lead of her own life.
The sets, the costumes, the choice of actors and the story feels right and I don't think that is the problem. It's probably Tim Burton that went with a too safe approach to make it darker or weirder or more Burtonesque... There's a little something that feels unsatisfying about Alice. The British weird sense of humor that coloured Carroll's œuvre and the 1951 especially in the tea party.
On another topic, the 3D version I had the chance to see at a IMAX theater here in Quebec City feels sloppy and sometimes unfocused. I don't know if it's gonna be like that for future 3D releases but I'm not a 100% charmed by the thing. Well, I'm not a 3D animation lover anyway, but I thought that technology corrected the sloppiness of 3D images. I may sound a purist when I write that but except the fact the studios want to get people out of their homes to go see the films in theaters, 3D didn't brought anything better to films so far.
Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland is worth the look but I must recommand Disney's 1951 version before watching the unofficial sequel of 2010 just to compare the two stories and the different approaches on their subject.
A Film Review by Michaël Parent
I liked how he pulled stuff from Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, but yeah I felt it was very safe for Burton.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass but it's on my list of Most Wanted readings. I'll get back to this review with another perspective when I'll have it read!
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